Car buying programs · Sam’s Club Auto Buying Program
Sam’s Club Auto Buying Program: how it works, and a better way to buy a 4x4
Sam’s Club members get an upfront price from a TrueCar dealer plus member-only incentives. Here’s what we do that Sam’s Club doesn’t.
Sam’s Club Auto Buying Program compared with OffRoad.guide
Sam’s Club gets you a dealer’s quote. We get you half a day in the 4x4, then the price in writing.
| Sam’s Club program | OffRoad.guide | |
|---|---|---|
| Your price | A personalized dealer price online, confirmed at the dealership | One No-Haggle Price, emailed to you, out the door |
| What qualifies you | An active Sam’s Club membership, $60 or $120 a year | Half a day in the vehicle; nothing to join |
| The drive | A test drive at the dealership | Half a day on the beach with the family |
| At the desk | The finance office; incentives applied at the store | Nothing added over the price on your certificate |
| Getting it home | Buy at the dealership | Built your way and delivered to your door |
Families from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas come to the Outer Banks anyway. The drive is a day of the trip, not a trip of its own.
How it works
TrueCar runs it, Sam’s Club members unlock it
Sam’s Club does not sell cars. Its Auto Buying Program is run by TrueCar, the same company behind the Navy Federal, PenFed and AAA programs. Members shop new and used cars on TrueCar’s site, get a price from a participating dealer, and buy at that dealership. You must hold an active membership when you buy.
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Step 1
Confirm your membership
At samsclub.truecar.com you enter your name, phone and ZIP code or sign in with your Sam’s Club account. That is what opens the member-only incentives.
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Step 2
Shop and compare
New and used cars from TrueCar Certified Dealers near you, with TrueCar’s price rating on each listing showing how it compares with what others paid.
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Step 3
Get a personalized price
A dealer sends an upfront price that includes manufacturer incentives, plus any member-only offers. At the time of writing those were cash allowances from select manufacturers, with a Mercedes-Benz offer called out.
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Step 4
Visit the dealership
You confirm the price in person, drive the car and get your questions answered. The program does not finance the purchase; the dealer or your own lender does.
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Step 5
Finalize and drive home
Paperwork at the store, the usual way. Members can also get a cash offer for their current car online and sell it outright or trade it in.
The price
What the member price is, and isn’t
It is a dealer’s upfront quote delivered through TrueCar, with manufacturer incentives folded in and member-only incentives on top where a manufacturer offers one. It is not a Sam’s Club price, and Sam’s Club publishes no average saving.
- How much it saves
- Sam’s Club and TrueCar publish no figure. TrueCar’s price rating tells you whether a quote is above or below what others paid for the same car, which is the useful part.
- Member incentives
- Manufacturer cash allowances for Sam’s Club members on select brands, which change month to month. Manufacturer rebates you already qualify for can apply too, under each offer’s rules.
- Membership
- Club membership is $60 a year, Plus is $120 and now includes Walmart+. Either one qualifies you, and it has to be active on the day you buy.
- Selling your car
- TrueCar’s sell-and-trade tool gives a market value and a cash offer online. You can cash out or trade in toward a new or used car.
- What the dealer gets
- Dealers pay TrueCar for the introductions. The dealer still sells the financing, the add-ons and its documentation fee.
Is it worth it?
If you are already a member and shopping a brand with a member incentive that month, yes. The upfront quote and the price rating take some of the guesswork out of the number. Everything else about the purchase is the standard dealership visit: the test drive, the finance office and the paperwork. It is the same machinery as Costco’s program with a different badge, and for a few months a year the incentives differ.
Membership fees are Sam’s Club’s current rates, read November 2026. The program publishes no savings figure; incentives change monthly and are described here from the program’s site.
The alternative
Same idea, no membership, and half a day in the vehicle instead of a test drive
OffRoad.guide runs on the same lines as the Sam’s Club program: a price set in advance with one dealer, a named contact, no haggling. Two things are different, and both are the point. The program is still in the works; every vehicle will come from a participating dealer, a store that agrees to one no-haggle, out-the-door price for our drivers before it joins.
- What qualifies you
- Not a card, and nothing to join. Half a day in the vehicle on the Carova 4x4 beach north of Corolla, North Carolina, with your family along and no salesperson. That is the whole membership, and it costs $325.
- When you see the price
- By email, on a numbered certificate: sticker, the dealer’s discount, factory cash, the No-Haggle Price, any delivery fee and the out-the-door total. Not a number you find out at the desk.
- Where you buy
- Remotely, from the dealer on your certificate. Within its area it delivers to your door; farther away, a dealer near you hands over the keys for a flat fee that is printed on the certificate.
- What is the same
- One dealer, one named person, one price, no negotiating, no pressure, and nobody calls unless you ask. The dealer still sells the financing and the add-ons if you want them; you can still say no.
Side by side
Sam’s Club Auto Buying Program vs. OffRoad.guide
| Side by side | Sam’s Club program | OffRoad.guide |
|---|---|---|
| What qualifies you | An active Sam’s Club membership, $60 or $120 a year | Half a day in the vehicle on the Carova 4x4 beach, $325 a vehicle; nothing to join |
| Who sets the price | A TrueCar Certified Dealer, in an upfront quote | Our dealer for that brand, before you book, the same for every program driver |
| Where you see it | Online, then confirmed at the dealership | On a numbered certificate emailed to you, out-the-door |
| Time in the vehicle first | A dealership test drive | About three hours on sand plus the drive up North Carolina Highway 12, the two-lane road up the Outer Banks, with your family along and no salesperson |
| Vehicles | Most makes, new and used | Bronco, Wrangler, Gladiator, Ram 2500 Warlock, Silverado Custom Trail Boss, F-250 Tremor, Tundra TRD Pro |
| Where you buy | At the dealership | Remotely, from the dealer on your certificate; delivered to your door or handed over at a dealer near you |
Questions
Straight answers
Is the Sam’s Club Auto Buying Program the same as Costco’s?
Same idea, different operator. Sam’s Club uses TrueCar, which shows you a dealer’s price online. Costco’s is run by Affinity Auto Programs, and its price sheet is shown at the dealership.
Do you need a Sam’s Club membership?
Yes, active at the time of purchase. Club is $60 a year, Plus is $120.
Does Sam’s Club sell new or used cars?
Both, through TrueCar Certified Dealers. You can also sell or trade your current car through the program.
How much does the Sam’s Club car buying program save?
Sam’s Club publishes no number. The quote is a dealer’s upfront price with incentives; TrueCar’s price rating shows how it compares with what others paid.
Does the Sam’s Club program finance cars?
No. Financing comes from the dealer or your own lender.
Who do I call about the Sam’s Club Auto Buying Program?
The program’s contact center, (866) 230-1467, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday.
Is OffRoad.guide part of Sam’s Club or TrueCar?
No. OffRoad.guide is not affiliated with Sam’s Club, Walmart, TrueCar or any automaker.
Is there a no-haggle car buying program with nothing to join?
OffRoad.guide: no card, no account and no membership fee. Half a day in the off-road trim on the Carova 4x4 beach is what qualifies you, our dealer for that brand sets one No-Haggle Price for program drivers before you book, and the price comes in writing.
OffRoad.guide · Open all year
Half a day on the sand. Then the price, in writing.
$325 a vehicle for the full five and a half hours, any month of the year. Request a date on the main page to get first pick. We email you to confirm it, with the booking link and the online license and insurance check. Questions? Email hello@offroad.guide; answers come back the same day.
Keys at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk, half a day up North Carolina Highway 12 and the Carova 4x4 beach, your family along and no salesperson. Then the No-Haggle Price in writing. The whole experience, start to finish.